


Caught in the Thought of that Time

by MollyPollyKinz



Series: All the Kings Men [2]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom
Genre: Dadza, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Ghostbur, Ghostbur is guilty, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Phil is guilty, Phil is trying his best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28054044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyPollyKinz/pseuds/MollyPollyKinz
Summary: “What’s wrong?” Phil asked the ghost of his son quietly.Ghostbur’s echoing voice cracked. “Phil, I think I did something terrible.”Phil was painfully reminded of a simpler time. A time when Wilbur was much shorter and much more innocent. A time when his son would shuffle forward guiltily, confessing to whatever small crime he had done that day.
Relationships: Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson
Series: All the Kings Men [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053368
Comments: 20
Kudos: 1062
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	Caught in the Thought of that Time

**Author's Note:**

> Congratulations guys, you have unwittingly made a one-shot into a series. Thank you for all of your support so far!

Phil had seen the signs.

How could he not? Tommy was his son, after all, and even after being separated for so long, Phil could recognize that Tommy was hiding something from him.

That something became clearer as time went on. Whenever Phil patted his son on the shoulder or gave him a hug, Tommy would wince, practically _flinch._ That wasn’t something that just randomly happened.

Someone had hurt Tommy. That much was obvious, and Phil had a horrible inkling of who.

Phil had been planning on talking to Tommy about it, but then he was exiled. Phil couldn’t bring himself to be angry with Tubbo. He was disappointed, of course, and he thought the young president could have handled the situation _far_ better.

But… people seem to have forgotten that electing a teenager as president was doomed to have pitfalls. Tubbo was still learning about what it meant to be a leader, and from a certain standpoint, Tubbo certainly did do _exactly_ what his country needed.

But Phil couldn’t approve, because Tommy was Tubbo’s best friend. He couldn’t approve, because Tommy was a child, and exiling a child from his home is never the right answer. But, perhaps most importantly of all, Tommy was Phil’s son, and Phil couldn’t stand seeing his son suffer.

Phil tried to visit Tommy as soon as he could. Tommy didn’t seem to be doing too well, so Phil tried to give his son the best support, even helping him set up the beach party.

But then Phil never received an invitation, and he assumed that Tommy didn’t want his dad to be there. It hurt, but Phil couldn’t blame him. Phil didn’t deserve Tommy’s love. After all, Phil killed Tommy’s older brother.

_“Phil, kill me.”_

What was Phil thinking, killing his own son? He could’ve gotten Wilbur help. He could’ve done something _different,_ something _better._ But instead, Phil listened to his son’s pleas and cut him down.

The memory of his son’s insanity was what got Phil wondering if Techno was right about the corruption government brings. Wilbur went insane, J’shclatt was a tyrant, and Tubbo… was a child struggling under heavy expectations.

Still, despite Tommy’s lack of invitation, Phil was planning on visiting his son again. Tommy was struggling, and Phil didn’t want to make the same mistakes he had already done for Wilbur. He couldn’t lose another son.

Phil was actually on his way to the nether portal when Ghostbur exited out of it. He startled when he saw Phil.

“Oh, Phil!” Ghostbur’s voice shuddered, but he tried to smile.

Immediately, Phil knew there was something wrong. For once, Ghostbur’s smile wasn’t sticking. He looked just as sad as he did when he learned that Fundy was going to be adopted by Eret.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asked the ghost of his son quietly.

Ghostbur’s echoing voice cracked. “Phil, I think I did something terrible.”

Phil was painfully reminded of a simpler time. A time when Wilbur was much shorter and much more innocent. A time when his son would shuffle forward guiltily, confessing to whatever small crime he had done that day.

“Well,” Phil said, pretending for a moment that they were still in those simpler times, “I’m sure we can make it right.” Phil hoped that was true. “What do you think you did?”

Ghostbur pulled some blue dye out of his pockets and stared at it. “I think I hurt Tommy.”

The silence was heavy, almost like a pouring rain that had suddenly stopped. Phil struggled to find the words.

“Like… his feelings?” Phil knew he was grasping at straws, but he didn’t care. The idea of Wilbur hurting his brother was almost too much to bear.

Ghostbur floated lower toward the ground, looking like he was about to cry.

“I don’t know,” he whispered, “But Tommy was talking about Dream lying to him and trying to make him feel lonely or dependent on Dream or something like that, and then he said it was like Wilbur all over again!” Ghostbur was practically sitting on the floor now, curled in on himself. “Did I do that?”

That… was a lot to unpack. Clearly, Dream was manipulating Tommy, who apparently knew this. That alone made Phil want to kill the masked man right then and there.

Talking to Ghostbur about the situation, Tommy drew a parallel to his time with Wilbur, implying that Wilbur had manipulated Tommy as well. That was heartbreaking. It was another reminder of Phil’s constant failure as a father.

Philza sat down next to Ghostbur, whishing he could hug his incorporeal form. Ghostbur clearly didn’t remember doing any of this, so lecturing his son would bring no good.

“Tommy has never mentioned it if you did,” Phil said quietly. Not that it meant much. Despite Tommy’s loud demeanor, he kept the serious things very close to his chest.

“And then—” Ghostbur let out a dry sob. “I asked if I had hurt him, and he said no.” Ghostbur looked up at Phil. “But he was lying.”

Phil’s heart went out to both of his sons, but nothing would stop the crushing remorse for what he did to them both. He left Tommy with his insane brother, who Phil proceeded to kill.

He was a horrible father.

“I’m sorry, Wil—Ghostbur,” Phil whispered.

“I hate him,” Ghostbur whispered, practically crushing the blue in his hands now, “I _hate_ him.”

Phil already knew the answer, but he asked anyway. “Hate who?”

“That _man._ First Fundy, now Tommy. He hurt everyone he was supposed to care about.” Ghostbur very uncharacteristically glared at the sky. “I’m _glad_ you killed him, if that’s how he turned out to be.”

Ghostbur may as well slapped Phil in the face. There was nothing he would regret _more_ than killing Wilbur. At night, Phil would plunge his sword into his son, who only laughed. Those nightmares would never leave him.

“I, I don’t—”

Ghostbur sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He smiled weakly. “I don’t like talking about this. Let’s change the subject.”

Phil struggled to keep up with the mood shift. “Right…” They still needed to talk about Dream manipulating Tommy. That was _unacceptable._

Before Phil could bring it up, however, Ghostbur perked up significantly.

“Oh, I just remembered!” He smiled. “Tommy’s agreed to do Lads on Tour. We want you and Techno to come with us. We would invite Tubbo, but he’s busy being president, and Dream might find it a tad suspicious.”

Phil lowered his voice to a whisper out of fear that Dream would hear them. “So, we’re running away from Dream with Tommy?”

Ghostbur nodded enthusiastically. “Basically. We might come back one day, when everything has calmed a bit.”

That actually sounded like a fantastic idea. It was a way for Tommy to get away from dream while not being completely and utterly alone. It was a way for Phil to start making amends with his sons who he failed so utterly.

“So, will you come?” Ghostbur asked, “Tommy’s been so sad lately, and I hate seeing him sad. I’ve tried nearly everything now.”

“Of course,” Phil promised. He had already left his sons alone once. He would _never_ do it again.

**Author's Note:**

> I need more Dadza. Once again, apologies for inaccuracies.


End file.
